Rainy Night Revelations
by Chibi0saka
Summary: Chat Noir gets caught in a storm one night and runs to the closest place he knows, Marinette's house. While there he learns who it is she has a crush on and doesn't react as she expected.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Contains minor spoilers for season 2**

Heavy rain was falling on the streets of Paris as Marinette yawned, carefully pinning fabric onto the dress form in front of her. She really shouldn't be up this late on a school night but she had been hit with a sudden bolt of inspiration that afternoon during a fight of all things, as Ladybug, with an akumatized teenager and she wanted to get the base of this piece straightened out now so she could work on it all weekend when she theoretically had more time.

"Marinette, shouldn't you be going to bed soon?" Tikki, her kwami friend, was already snuggled into the tiny bed Marinette had made for her atop her desk and was watching the girl's progress sleepily.

"You still have school tomorrow."

"I know, I know, I'm almost at a good stopping point…" She mumbled through the pins pressed between her lips. A bolt of lighting flashed, followed soon by the deep rumble of thunder and Marinette looked out the window at the steady stream of water running down the glass. It would be hard to fall asleep anyway, if this thunderstorm got any worse. Another flash of lighting suddenly cast a harsh shadow of a figure against her wall and she jumped. Taking the pins out of her mouth and turning her head to look up she realized the tapping of rain had drowned out the tapping of a certain leather-clad superhero on the window leading to her roof. He was staring down at her with a pathetic look on his face, completely drenched out in the storm. He looked like a drowned kitten and she had to stifle a laugh as she hurriedly unlocked the window, pushing it open and letting him into her room. He bounded in, a cold blast of water and wind following him and she slammed the window shut tight again as soon as he was inside. He glanced around at the furniture, obviously wanting to sit but already forming a small puddle on the rug with all the rain dripping off his clothes and hair.

"I'll get you a towel." She smirked, and he smiled back sheepishly.

"Thanks."

She opened the hatch to her loft softly, hoping the rain would drown out any noise she made as she crept down the stairs, not wanting to wake her parents. Grabbing a towel out of the hall closet she shook her head, leave it to Chat Noir to show up like this. When it was raining cats and dogs…she giggled quietly at her own Chat joke and slipped back up the stairs. She entered the room and blushed slightly, realizing Chat Noir was now examining the elaborate display on her wall of photos and posters, all of a certain blonde boy in her class. He turned to look at her when she came in and smiled at her mischievously.

"Thanks princess."

He took the towel she offered him and his smirk momentarily disappeared under the fluffy white cloth as he rubbed it over his hair and face. Drawing it away Marinette had to cover her mouth with both hands to keep from laughing at his mildly damp hair, normally already a bit of a mess, now standing up at every angle possible. He looked like a cat that someone had taken a blow dryer to. Her caught the look in her eye and grinned at her playfully,

"Cat got your tongue?"

"You look like a fur ball" she chuckled in response. He looked up at his hair and shook his head before shrugging,

"Better a fur ball than soaking wet in that storm I suppose."

"What exactly were you doing out there anyway?"

She raised an eyebrow, watching him wrap the towel around his shoulders like a blanket before deciding to sit on the floor. He frowned, messing with his hair before looking at her again,

"It wasn't raining when I went out. But you know my luck…"

He shook his head and let out an exaggerated sigh,

"Anyway. I just wanted to get out for awhile but then this storm hit and I was closer to here than home so…I thought…"

He looked at her and she finished his sentence,

"You thought I might let you in out of the rain?"

He nodded gleefully, like he'd done something he was proud of. Marinette sighed. It wasn't that she didn't like Chat Noir, he was her partner after all, even if he didn't know it but… ever since that night, with Glaciator, when he'd come to her balcony and talked with her as Marinette, confessed to her that he was in love with Ladybug, he'd been coming by more and more often to talk, usually late at night.

She liked talking to him too, in fact they didn't really get many opportunities to do so when they were fighting crime together, but she was worried the longer he spent around Marinette, the higher the risk that he'd discover that she was Ladybug.

So she had tried to keep him at an arm's distance, in fact she realized, this was the first time she'd let him come down into her room. She had been so distracted by the weather that she hadn't given it a second thought but now that he was sitting in the middle of the floor, leaning back on his palms and looking around her space with a curious eye she started to worry. Was there anything in here that would give her away? Tikki had ducked down away out of sight and Marinette was pretty sure she didn't have any suspicious Ladybug stuff, nothing a fan wouldn't have anyway.

She looked back at Chat Noir and he met her gaze for a moment, not moving as if he were trying to read her thoughts. Then he flicked his eyes back to the wall behind her plastered with Adrien's photos and she blushed again as he arched one of his brows and nodded toward it with his chin,

"You sure have a lot of pictures of that Adrien guy…"

She flushed even redder, though for a moment she was surprised he knew who Adrien was. But then again Adrien was getting more and more famous and now that she thought about it, the two of them had saved Adrien on multiple occasions from Akuma attacks so Chat Noir probably would recognize him. She sighed, thinking desperately.

She didn't really want to tell Chat Noir about this. As much as she valued his friendship with her as Ladybug, she didn't really know who he was and part of her felt like she shouldn't get too close to him as Marinette either. But if she didn't properly explain herself, would he get the wrong idea? What if he thought she was a creepy stalker?! She shook her head and pressed her hands to her face, deciding it would be easier to try to keep things as simple as possible.

"Yeah, um he's…" Her eyes darted from the photos on the wall back to Chat Noir's face. Surprised, she realized his usual snarky expression had faded and his eyes were clear and interested. She looked back at the pictures of Adrien, dreamy, beautiful Adrien. Marinette sighed for the millionth time and finished her thought,

"He's perfect."

Chat Noir's eyebrows shot up and he looked at her, gazing at the photos lovingly, her hands still on her reddened face. She looked back at him and smiled awkwardly, a nervous laugh escaping her. Realization dawned on Chat Noir's face and an unusually timid smile crept across his lips,

"Oh…so…is he the boy you…"

Marinette realized she had never seen Chat Noir look like this before. Somehow all his confidence and schmooze had seemingly dissolved into thin air as he pulled the towel on his shoulders around his knees, hunching into a ball and covering his mouth with the fabric as he trailed off. If she didn't know better she could've sworn he was blushing. Maybe Chat Noir wasn't actually as comfortable talking about things like this as he acted like he was, she supposed.

"Yeah…" Was all she said, staring back at the photos, her eyes resting on one of the screen grabs she'd printed of Adrien's cologne ad.

"Because…he's a model?"

Chat Noir's voice came quietly from behind her and distracted she answered without thinking, sighing dreamily,

"Yeah… I mean, no!" She realized what she said and turned back to him, not wanting Chat Noir to think she was that shallow.

"I mean, yeah, he's gorgeous but he's also really kind, and thoughtful and patient, even with people who don't deserve it. And he's considerate and smart and talented…he always tries his best..."

She tried to stop the words tumbling out of her mouth and squeezed her lips shut, turning to face Chat Noir nervously. He had a weird look on his face, maybe it was surprise? Or maybe she was freaking him out, did she sound like a creepy stalker?

"Um…we're friends. Kind of. He's in my class. At school."

She finished awkwardly. Did that make anything she'd just said less weird? She turned back away from him and twirled one of her pigtails in embarrassment. Behind her she heard a soft rustle and Chat Noir's voice again,

"so…what happened?"

"hm?" She turned to look at him but he was staring at the floor, frowning.

"You said…you had your heart broken…"

Marinette was surprised he remembered their conversation from back then so well. She had felt heartbroken then, when Adrien had yet again, been unable to join her and her friends, that time at the Sweetheart's Ice Cream cart. In fact she might have been upset enough to accidentally cause the nice ice cream vendor, Andre to become vulnerable to an Akuma and turn into an ice cream monster. But she didn't really need to tell Chat Noir all that. Instead she just sighed,

"He…well it's not really his fault but, it just seems like we aren't meant to be. Things never really seem to work out between us."

She put a hand on the wall, gingerly touching the photo.

Chat Noir's gaze had turned back to her and his eyes were wide. Marinette didn't notice though, because her eyes were still on the photo beneath her fingers as she reflected on all her past interactions with Adrien. She barely heard a faint rustling behind her and then Chat Noir's voice was much closer when he spoke again, with a slight chuckle

"Maybe you just need a little luck."

She smiled at the irony of his statement. Suddenly a bolt of lighting flashed, somewhere close by and a roar of thunder immediately followed. She turned to see Chat Noir standing behind her right as the lights cut out.

"You were saying?" She giggled at the bizarre timing of the black out, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the dark. The rain continued pattering against the roof and the room seemed completely still for a moment. Chat Noir never made a sound when he moved, so she jumped when she felt a gloved hand brush against her face.

"Sorry, forgot you can't see in the dark…"

His normally smarmy voice sounded somehow much more toned down and thoughtful, like he was pondering something.

"Chat?" She blinked rapidly; as if that would help her eyes adjust faster. Another flash of lighting momentarily revealed him to her, standing just a breath away, his hand still hovering beside her face. In that split second she was startled to see a pained expression on his usually bright and cheery face. It completely disarmed her and was probably why, as the light disappeared she didn't move away, even when she felt him move closer, resting his hand on her cheek. She stayed even after she could feel the heat from his face as he leaned down towards her and she stayed while he gently, swiftly pressed his lips against hers. And then he was gone.

The lights flickered as the power came back on and Marinette found herself alone in her room.

Well not totally alone, Tikki was peering at her from behind a pile of books on her desk.

"What on earth was that?" She gave voice to Marinette's own thoughts as the girl put her hands to her face, realizing she was probably beet red.

"I have no idea!" She turned to stare in shock at her Kwami, now hovering beside her.

"I thought Chat Noir had feelings for Ladybug…" The little red being was now wide-awake; having witnessed everything that just happened.

"So did I…I mean that's what he said, right?" Marinette's pulse was racing as fast as her mind as she tried to make sense of what was going on. She glanced at Tikki in horror,

"You don't think he found out, do you?"

"But then wouldn't he say something before…kissing you?" Tikki mused thoughtfully, "Chat Noir may act like a flirt but he doesn't seem like the type to go around kissing every girl he sees…"

Marinette squinted in concentration.

"I…don't know…" She shook her head, the memory of Chat Noir's pained expression flashing through her mind. What was that kitty cat up to now?

"Why, why, why did I kiss her!?" Adrien was racing across rooftops, still in his Chat Noir costume but no longer aware of the pouring rain around him as his face burned with embarrassment. Bumbling back through the window of his own home he groaned, flopping onto his bed.

"Claws in."

He mumbled into his pillow and a little black spirit with pointy ears and whiskers suddenly rolled out of his ring, cackling as Adrien's transformation ended abruptly.

"Ahahaha, what an idiot!" Plagg was nearly crying with laughter.

"I can't believe you did that!"

Adrien's only response was to moan and pull another pillow over his head. Not only had he gone to his friend's house in the middle of the night and randomly kissed her, he had done it as Chat Noir! He would be lucky if she didn't tell her best friend Alya about it. Alya ran the Ladyblog and if she posted anything about Chat Noir going around kissing civilians, not only would his reputation be ruined but Ladybug would probably be disappointed in him too. And poor Marinette…she had just told him all about the guy she liked and his response was to kiss her?

He blushed then remembering who it was that she liked. It was him. Adrien. Boring old, plain old Adrien. And she'd gone on and on saying all those nice things about him…

But still that wasn't really a good reason to kiss a girl, especially if she didn't know it was him she was kissing.

On the other hand, what if she did know it was him? Would she say no to kissing him again? As Adrien?

He rolled over onto his back, slowly pulling the pillow off of his face and staring up at the ceiling. He could hear Plagg chomping at the pile of Camembert he kept on a plate in one corner of the room and bit his lip, thoughtfully.

Did he want to kiss Marinette again? He had been surprised how different she acted around Chat Noir, that night when he first showed up at her balcony. She was calm and thoughtful, not at all awkward and nervous like when he was around her as Adrien. In fact she'd even been a bit playful and he'd found himself hanging around her balcony more often than not, on nights he needed to get away from the cold, empty house he shared with his workaholic father. She was easy to talk to and kind, and even though he could tell she was sometimes annoyed at how late he showed up, she was still always willing to listen. If he thought about it, maybe he would be interested in Marinette if it weren't for…Ladybug. He'd fallen for Ladybug head over heels and being with her, fighting evil, gave him a rush he couldn't get anywhere else. He wasn't over her yet, even if she had turned him down, and now he was back to square one.

Why had he kissed Marinette?


	2. Chapter 2 - A Close Call

Walking into school the next morning Adrien nearly jumped when he saw Marinette at her locker. She was sorting through her schoolbooks and hadn't noticed him but his face was already burning with embarrassment. Then he remembered that Marinette didn't know he was Chat Noir and therefore didn't know that he was the one who had randomly kissed her in the dark last night. He breathed a sigh of relief, but still decided to slip around the opposite side of the row of lockers to wait for her to leave before going to get his own textbook. At least that was his plan but suddenly Nino appeared out of nowhere, greeting him cheerily and clapping a hand on his shoulder

"Adrien! Sup! You ready for that Chemistry quiz today?"

Adrien watched Marinette's head snap out of her locker when Nino said his name, looking quickly toward the two boys standing at the end of the row. Her eyes met his and he could tell, even from this distance that her cheeks were turning slightly pink. He sighed,

"Act natural…" he reminded himself before giving her what he hoped was a normal, friendly smile and a quick wave. She waved back hesitantly, smiling. Nino followed Adrien's gaze and gave her a wave as well,

"Oh, hey Marinette! What's up?"

"Hey Nino! Hi Adrien…" He noticed she stretched the 'A' at the beginning of his name out a little bit too long and smiled to himself, shaking his head. Pretending he didn't know anything was going to be harder than he'd thought. He'd been so preoccupied with his embarrassment last night, worrying about he was going to explain things to Marinette without revealing his identity and if/how he should tell Ladybug that he kissed a civilian, that he hadn't even been thinking about how he now knew that she liked him, as Adrien, and would have to spend all day at school with her knowing that. He supposed for now it would be easiest to keep acting like he didn't know anything…after all what was he going to do? Turn her feelings down? Ask her out? Neither one sounded right, he needed more time to think...

* * *

Marinette tried to be realistic with herself. There was no reason to feel guilty, it wasn't like she was dating Adrien, and she hadn't asked Chat Noir to kiss her either. So she definitely had nothing to feel bad for right? And yet she couldn't shake the feeling all day that Adrien was watching her. But that was crazy right? How could he possibly know? She must be imagining things. Sighing she looked up from her notes, where she had absentmindedly been scribbling and realized Adrien was turned in his seat slightly, looking at her. Her eyes widened and she blushed, covering her notes with one arm awkwardly.

"Hey, um, can I…borrow an eraser?" Adrien whispered, smiling apologetically. She nodded, a little too enthusiastically and leaned over to dig through her bag. As she did so, however, her elbow bumped into her notebook and it slipped off her desk, right into Adrien's lap. Twisting back around quickly she looked in horror as Adrien picked it up, reaching to hand it back to her and then pausing as he read what she'd written. Scrawled in her messy cursive handwriting she had been trying to organize the events of last night into a kind of list, hoping that somehow seeing it on paper might help her understand what had happened. Consequently Adrien was holding a piece of paper that read:

Chat Noir in my room - Sees pictures of Adrien - gets weird - me, blah blah blah Adrien - KISS?!

She felt herself turning bright red as he handed it back to her and looked away awkwardly, ruffling his hand in the back of his hair. He had definitely read it. But they were in the middle of class right now; there was no way for her to explain this to him. She glanced at Alya, who had witnessed the exchange but fortunately still didn't know what her notes contained. Her friend gave her a sly grin and a thumbs-up before turning her attention back to Ms. Bustier's lecture. Marinette felt like she was going to die of embarrassment.

She wanted to get her friend's help, Alya would know how to spin this so Adrien wouldn't think Marinette was a total weirdo but that would mean showing her the note and she would definitely want to know all about Chat Noir's kiss. She trusted her friend would be discreet enough not to post it on the Ladyblog if Marinette asked her not to but…she honestly felt bad for Chat Noir, remembering his painful expression revealed in a flash of lighting, and it felt like something that somehow should be kept…private, not dished about, not even with her bestie. Letting out a long sigh she turned the page over in her notebook to a blank one, feeling as empty as the paper in front of her. Suddenly a glimmer of movement in her peripheral vision drew her attention to the window.

An eerily familiar looking shape flitted right through the glass pane of the window, slowly drawing near to her and as it did Marinette's heart nearly stopped. The dark purple wings sent panic running through her mind as she recognized what it was. An Akuma. She glanced around the room quickly, scanning the faces of her classmates for anyone that may seem particularly upset but her peers were all more or less focused on their teacher's demonstration. Everyone seemed to fall somewhere in the range of mildly attentive to bored, but nothing out of the ordinary seemed to be going on with any of them. The ominous butterfly was still lazily drawing closer to her and she realized: she was the one it was heading for.

This couldn't happen to her, Ladybug was the only one who could purify an Akuma, if she got Akumatized it would all be over. She had to get out of there fast. Taking a quick breath and raising her hand but not waiting for her teacher's permission before standing up she slid around the back of Alya's chair, heading for the door as she spoke,

"Ms. Bustier, I have to go to the bathroom, it's an emergency, I'm sorry!"

Everyone in the class watched her in surprise as she rushed out the door without another word. She didn't notice Adrien spot the Akuma or hear him ask for permission to leave as well.

Marinette ran down the hallway, trying to think, checking over her shoulder and seeing the Akuma steadily flitting after her.

"Tikki!"

She hissed her Kwami's name in a harsh whisper, heading down the stairs into the courtyard, trying to keep moving. Her magical friend's tiny, red, head peered out from the pocket in her jacket and gasped, catching sight of the Akuma.

"Marinette! There's an Akuma, we have to find the person it's after!"

"It's after ME!"

Marinette huffed, trying to talk and run at the same time,

"If I transform to purify it while it's still coming for me, do you think that would reveal my identity as Ladybug to Hawkmoth?"

She had reached the main entrance to the school and the Akuma was starting to pick up speed, but she was almost on the street now and couldn't transform with all the civilians walking and driving past. Tikki ducked back down slightly,

"I-I don't know…"

Glancing around nervously Marinette was trying to weigh her options when a black blur swooped into her line of sight and she felt a rather familiar pair of arms scooping her up into the air.

"Ditching class, Princess?"

She blushed slightly looking up into Chat Noir's bright green eyes. He glanced down at her and grinned before focusing back on the rooftops he was jumping across with seemingly minimal effort. Marinette could've sworn there was a hint of pink spreading across his face but his mask covered most of it and it could have just been from the effort of carrying her and running over buildings.

They were blocks away in a matter of seconds and Chat Noir set her down gently as they stopped on top of a multi-storied bank building. Both of them were gazing warily back towards the school but the Akuma seemed to have disappeared.

"Do you think it found a new victim?" Marinette asked the boy standing beside her, worried that she had escaped at someone else's expense.

"Maybe…" Chat Noir was scanning the horizon carefully. Silence stretched between them before they both realized what exactly had just happened.

"Wait, where did you come from just now? I wasn't even Akumatized and you were already there…" Marinette turned to look at Chat Noir, partly impressed with his timing but also suspicious. Was he stalking her?

Her partner's eyes widened in surprise and he looked away nervously,

"I uh…I just happened to be passing by…" He had been ruffling the back of his hair awkwardly but then he paused and looked at her curiously,

"How did you know to run away? I've never seen anyone do that before, you seem to have some experience dealing with Akumas…"

Now Marinette's eyes widened in surprise and she glanced over the cityscape around them trying to think of a believable excuse,

"Uh…I…mean…I've just seen you and Ladybug a lot on the news and you know…you've been coming to my house all the time talking about fighting them…"

She arched an eyebrow and smiled at him and then froze, remembering the last time he had been at her house, in her room, last night. Looking back at him slowly he seemed to be remembering the same thing, his face was definitely turning pinker now and when she looked in his eyes he looked guilty. Neither of them said anything for a second and then Chat Noir broke away, awkwardly laughing,

"Hahaha, right, I guess you have spent a lot of time with an Akuma expert lately…"

Marinette scrunched her lips together to one side of her mouth and looked down at her shoes, not sure how to bring up what had happened last night, or what she even wanted to say. Of course she was confused by what had happened and she wanted to know why he had kissed her but more than that she couldn't shake the expression she'd caught on his face that was so dark and out of character for Chat Noir. Finally she looked back up at him. He was standing with his back to her now, still ruffling his hair nervously. That tic of his reminded her of someone but she pushed the thought out of her mind as she took a breath.

"Chat Noir…Last night…"

He turned, looking at her like he'd been caught with something naughty and knew he was in trouble. She sighed, shoulders slacking and looked into his eyes honestly,

"Are you ok?"

His eyes grew wider and she wondered what he had expected her to say but waited silently for him to answer. After a second he blinked rapidly and his typical sassy grin reemerged on his face.

"Just purr-fect, Princess."

"Ok…" Marinette wasn't convinced but as she was trying to put together what to say next a police siren went off, followed by distant screams. Both of them quickly turned to look back in the direction they came and saw helicopters starting to converge on an area several blocks away.

Chat Noir looked at her and grinned, a slightly guilty look still in his eyes as he put one foot up on the low railing edging the roof.

"Sorry we can't talk more but, well, duty calls!"

He winked and gave her a two-fingered salute before leaping off the roof onto the next building, quickly heading back toward the chaos ensuing in the distance.

Marinette sighed but felt a little relived to know the Akuma could at least be accounted for. As she watched to be sure Chat Noir was out of sight she found herself actually hoping he would come by her balcony to talk again soon, they definitely weren't done sorting out whatever had happened between them.

Shaking her head slightly she stretched out her arms and called to her Kwami,

"Tikki, spots on!"


	3. Chapter 3

Adrien had never been grateful for an Akuma attack before and he felt a bit guilty about it now but he was glad to get away from having to explain himself to Marinette. He had expected her to be angry or feel uncomfortable around him when he next saw her as Chat Noir, but instead she had seemed genuinely concerned for him. He shook his head, how could that girl be so selfless? Something inside him felt warm at the thought that Marinette cared for Chat Noir but as he neared the scene of the Akuma attack he turned his focus back to the streets of Paris, busy with fleeing civilians and police officers trying to contain the situation until he and Ladybug arrived to take care of things.

Adrien felt another stab of guilt as he realized he was about come face to face with a girl he wasn't ready to talk to for the second time that day. As he propelled himself across the rooftops, dodging a flock of agitated pigeons escaping the mayhem below he questioned himself. If he thought about it there was no reason to feel guilty, Ladybug had been clear with him about her feelings, that she didn't see him in a romantic way. Surely she wouldn't really care if he set his sights on someone else? But then again, she was always so strict about their identities, insisting that entangling their civilian and superhero lives in any way was a threat to them and to the people they protected. What if she got mad at him for involving a regular girl in his superhero life? He frowned, annoyed at the thought. He didn't necessarily want to pursue Marinette in that way but it wouldn't be reasonable for Ladybug to expect Chat Noir to stay single for the rest of his life!

He was shaken out of his hypothetical argument with Ladybug by the appearance of the latest Akuma victim on the street below him. A boy, probably close to Adrien's age, dressed in a bizarre combination of neon and cargo shorts was riding a skateboard that was flying down the pavement at high speed, laughing maniacally. He was wearing a dark metallic helmet with a clear blue visor over his eyes and as he rode past fleeing civilians he raised a hand to the side of his face, tapping the blue plastic and emitting a pulse of light that seemed to freeze the people he passed.

"You all need to chill out!" He laughed again and Chat Noir rolled his eyes.

"Looks like you're not the only one who likes a bad joke." A familiar voice came from behind him and Adrien turned quickly to see Ladybug surveying the scene only a few feet away.

"Hey, my jokes are hilarious." Adrien sassed back.

Ladybug turned to smile at him, one eyebrow arched above her eye dubiously and his heart skipped a beat. He looked away quickly, feeling himself blushing as he turned back towards the Akuma terrorizing the streets.

"Looks like a…skater that can freeze people?" He tried to explain the situation to her and Ladybug frowned.

"Well then I bet the Akuma's in his skateboard?" she pondered.

"Probably" Chat Noir nodded, "Only one way to find out."

He launched himself off the roof and Ladybug followed as they pursued the skater.

Adrien managed to forget his troubling emotions in the flurried activity that followed but once the Akuma victim was sitting, confused and defeated at their feet after Ladybug managed to break his skateboard AND his helmet (surprisingly the location of the Akuma) the adrenaline wore off and watching her purify the Akuma he felt the guilt sitting in the pit of his stomach. He still had feelings for her, even if she didn't return them, and he didn't want anything to keep her from trusting him. She smiled at him as the effects of Miraculous Ladybug washed over the city streets, returning everything to how it had been before the attack.

"Pound it!" her voice was chipper as she reached out to fist bump him in their traditonal victory move but he didn't reciprocate the gesture.

"Chat Noir? Are you ok?"

That question again. He flinched, starting to feel even worse.

"I have to tell you something." He couldn't look her in the eye, instead casting his gaze down and holding one arm guiltily.

"What's wrong?" Her voice was warm with concern and he frowned.

"I…I…kissed another girl, as Chat Noir."

"Oh…" She sounded a lot less surprised then he expected and he looked back up at her curiously. She suddenly stammered

"Uh, I mean, oh wow! That's…"She trailed off, no longer meeting his gaze.

"Good?" She finally offered, slightly tilting her head to one side.

"Good?" He repeated confused.

"Bad?" She seemed just as unsure as he was.

"I…don't know."

She frowned at him,

"Well…" Her cheeks were slightly flushed pink but he wasn't looking at her so he didn't notice,

"Do…you like her?"

"No!" He answered too quickly and she looked surprised.

"I mean…not as much as…you" Adrien blushed and his voice trailed off. He was looking at the ground again. They both stood in awkward silence for a moment and then Ladybug started speaking, her voice soft and apologetic,

"My feelings still haven't changed…maybe…"

He looked up at her and her eyes were cast down, but she looked sad.

"If this girl likes you, Chat Noir…"

"She doesn't" He interrupted her, not wanting to hear Ladybug tell him to go after someone else. He wasn't ready to let go of her yet.

"She doesn't like Chat Noir. She told me she likes a boy in her class"

He knew he was sort of lying and he tried to ignore another pang of guilt. She looked at him in shock, then her eyes narrowed as she squinted at him skeptically.

"Then why did you kiss her?"

He felt himself blushing and he ruffled the back of his hair,

"I don't know…"

Ladybug raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to explain more. He sighed, trying to think how to word this.

"I guess because she was going on about how great this guy is and…well…it was really nice…and then she said she felt like they weren't meant to be and she looked so sad so…I don't know…"

He wrapped his arms around himself, still blushing. Ladybug was squinting at him, obviously annoyed,

"That doesn't make any sense. If you bad for someone you don't just kiss them!"

"Well I wanted her to feel better!" He mumbled defensively.

"How would kissing you make her feel better about her crush on someone else?"

Adrien rubbed his hands through his hair more aggressively, agitated,

"Because, that someone else is also ME! I'm the guy in her class!"

He knew he was getting close to personal territory but he was desperate to keep Ladybug from assuming he was a total creep who went around forcing himself on sad girls. Besides, he hadn't actually said it was Marinette that he'd kissed so it was unlikely she'd find out anything more about Adrien's true identity.

This was all such a confusing mess to him that he didn't think anything of the look of surprise growing on Ladybug's face. Her eyes were growing wide and he assumed he had been right, she was disappointed in him. Her earrings beeped again and she blinked rapidly,

"Wow um…I'm so sorry but…I have to go…see you later!"

Suddenly she was running off, slinging her yoyo onto a lamppost and swinging into the air, onto a nearby building and then dropping out of sight. Adrien sighed again, turning in the opposite direction and ducking into an alleyway to de-transform.

"Well that went well." Plagg was now sitting in Adrien's palm, rubbing his face with tiny black paws, "Cheese please!"

Adrien groaned,

"She HATES ME! Did you see how she just took off like that?"

"Her time was up." Plagg shrugged, floating lazily into the pocket of Adrien's shirt to look for cheese himself.

"You don't have anything in here!"

Adrien rolled his eyes,

"I left it in my bag at school. You can make it another fifteen minutes."

Plagg disagreed, grumbling under his breath as Adrien exited the alley and headed back to class.

* * *

Adrien is Chat Noir.

Adrien. Is. Chat. Noir!

Marinette could feel how red her face was, even after she had changed back, holding Tikki in her hands, staring in shock at her Kwami friend.

"Tikki."

Her Kwami looked up at her, eyes wide in surprise,

"Yeah."

"ADRIEN IS CHAT NOIR!" Marinette's voice came out in a high gasp.

Her mind flashed back to all the time she'd spent with Chat Noir, working together but always avoiding his advances. She remembered how faithful he'd been, constantly putting himself in harm's way to protect her, despite his carefree attitude. And then she remembered their interactions that previous night,

"ADRIEN KISSED ME!"

It took all her willpower not to scream with excitement. Her face was on fire now, and she had unconsciously started squeezing Tikki.

"Marinette! Calm down!" The little red sprite tried to reassure her friend, squirming out from between Marinette's fingers. Suddenly Marinette felt realization dawning on her, crushing her just as she'd begun to have hope

"Adrien…is in love with Ladybug…"

Her shoulders slumped. It was one of her worst fears come true.

"He'll really never like me…" she felt tears starting to well up in her eyes. Tikki frowned sympathetically and put a tiny hand on Marinette's shoulder.

"That's not true! Chat Noir kissed you, Marinette! His feelings could be changing already!"

Marinette bit her lip, staring at her feet,

"You heard what he said…he just…felt bad for me. Ugh I'm such an idiot!"

She rubbed her palms against her eyes, sighing. Her kwami watched her, feeling her human friend's pain and sighing too,

"Don't say that Marinette, you're amazing! As Ladybug and Marinette! You should never feel bad for caring for another person, regardless of whether or not they return your feelings."

Marinette peered at her through her bangs, sniffling slightly. Tikki smiled gently,

"Besides, you never know what the future holds."

Marinette sniffed again,

"I guess…"

Tikki patted her shoulder again,

"Now, we had better get back to school, you've been gone for quite a bit!" Her kwami reminded her.

"Oh my GOD everyone probably thinks I'm still IN THE BATHROOM!"

She felt herself blushing again and Tikki stifled a giggle as she flew back into her friend's jacket, hiding herself as Marinette sprinted down the sidewalk.


	4. Chapter 4

Adrien managed to slip back into class relatively unnoticed. It helped that as he sat down the door slammed open loudly and Marinette, flushed and panting made her entrance back into class. Ms. Bustier gave her a look of uneasy skepticism as Marinette mumbled some kind of apology and Adrien felt his stomach turn as he realized too late that he had completely abandoned her on the rooftop as Chat Noir.

Embarrassed, he buried his head into his arms on top of his desk, unable to look at her as she walked past him back to her seat.

Had she run all the way back to school? How had she even gotten down?

He was mentally kicking himself.

He'd been so worried about disappointing Ladybug that he'd completely failed to go back and retrieve her after the Akuma attack. Add that to the kiss that was already weighing on his mind and now his complete lack of common courtesy and he wouldn't be surprised if Marinette was totally fed up with Chat Noir.

What a class-A jerk.

Adrien resolved then and there to make things right. He would go back tonight, talk things out, apologize and hope she could forgive him.

Sailing through the Paris skyline at night always made Adrien feel a bit excited but the closer he drew to the Dupain-Cheng bakery the more his excitement turned into nerves. He could see the light on in Marinette's room as he swiftly jumped across the street and landed silently on the roof. Her voice was muffled through the skylight as he drew near but he could hear her obviously frenzied about something. Probably ranting over the phone to Alya. A slight grin crept over his face as he stole to the glass and caught sight of her, pacing the room and waving her hands,

"-but I HAVE to tell him don't I? But then I'll lose him completely!"

Adrien would have given her words more notice if he didn't catch sight of something that made him freeze.

Marinette wasn't on the phone. Or even video chatting on her computer.

Instead she was very clearly having an animated discussion with a tiny, floating, red thing. It was looking at her with big, blue eyes. Marinette paused to look at it and it opened its mouth and Adrien heard a small voice reassuring her,

"You don't have to make this decision right now Marinette-"

He didn't hear the rest of what it had to say.

Springing back in shock he wheeled around and promptly caught an elbow on one of the potted plants on Marinette's balcony. It dropped with a loud shatter and he ducked down against the wall, trying to still his breath and melt into the shadows.

"What was that?"

He could barely make out Marinette's voice as he flattened himself against the bricks, trying desperately to keep his brain from melting.

A Kwami.

There was no doubt.

Marinette had a kwami.

A red kwami, with black dots…

Blood was rushing into Adrien's face as it clicked together.

Marinette was Ladybug.

The Marinette that was his classmate and friend and that he'd kissed the night before when she'd unknowingly confessed her feelings to him.

OH MY GOD HE'D KISSED MARINETTE WHO WAS LADYBUG SO LADYBUG KNEW ALL ALONG AND PROBABLY THOUGHT HE WAS A COMPLETE TOOL WHO JUST WENT AROUND KISSING VULNERABLE GIRLS WHEN SHE WASN'T AROUND

His mind was whirling a mile a minute as his ears caught the sound of cautious footsteps and the clatter of the latch to the skylight.

He turned to see dark hair followed by eyes that were all too-familiar peeking out onto the balcony.

Marinette.

Ladybug

He had to explain himself properly or Ladybug-Marinette-would never take his feelings for her seriously. She would probably just think he was nothing but a huge flirt for the rest of his life and they would never date or get married or have a hamster...

"What the-"

Her voice drew him out of his internal panic as she caught sight of the shattered pot on the ground. She pushed the window pane open all the way,

"What happened to you?"

She murmured, smoothly slipping out of the skylight and scooping up the remains of the plant in one fluid motion.

"La-Marinette!"

He forgot that he'd been hiding and sprang out at her. Not surprisingly she shrieked and dropped the plant back onto the floor. He mildly registered her fists raised into a fighting stance before she recognized him and relaxed, eyeing him curiously,

"Chat Noir?"

He noticed a blush springing over her cheeks,

"What are you doing here?"

"I have to talk to you!"

He stepped toward her, hands on her shoulders in desperation. She grew redder and he realized what he was doing. Just as quickly he let go of her and stepped back, feeling himself blushing as well,

"Sorry! Sorry! I'm…Ah I came here to apologize and now I just keep…I mean I broke your plant and I definitely shouldn't have kissed you last night and then I left you on that roof earlier, although I was trying to save you…."

He realized Marinette was smiling at him, trying not to laugh and he felt his ears burning with embarrassment.

"I'm sorry."

"So I gathered."

Marinette giggled slightly and he felt his heart skip a beat.

Marinette was Ladybug.

But she was still Marinette.

He relaxed his shoulders and took a deep breath.

"I just…didn't want you to get the wrong idea…"

Marinette smiled at him and he was surprised to see a hint of wistfulness as she dropped her eyes,

"Don't worry, I know you don't like me that way. You're crazy for Ladybug, right?"

"That's not what I meant… I mean I am but…"

Something about her statement bothered him.

"I just…didn't want you to think I was some kind of creep who went around seducing girls just because he can…"

A short laugh escaped Marinette's lips and her eyes drew back up to his,

"You? Seducing someone?"

"Hey! I'm a pretty popular guy you know!"

Chat Noir flexed an arm at her and grinned,

"There are tons of ladies all over Paris just dying to get a taste of this…"

He flexed again, exaggerating the effort. Marinette snorted and Chat Noir felt warm and fuzzy inside. This was why he had started hanging around her balcony. To see this sarcastic, open side of her that he never got to see at school.

And now he knew why.

This was genuine Marinette.

Comfortable, relaxed, not self-conscious around her crush or putting on her best face to take on the pressures of super hero life.

He felt his heart start to beat faster as she looked him up and down.

"Sure. You keep telling yourself that mister."

He grinned back at her in excitement. She flushed pink and suddenly dropped her eyes away. A small sigh escaped her.

"What?"

He dropped his arms to his sides, watching her lean against the railing and close her eyes, shaking her head,

"It's nothing."

That wistful smile crept back over her face and Chat frowned.

"You can tell me you know."

She opened her eyes, staring in to the sky silently.

"I won't even try to kiss you this time."

He grinned, leaning over the railing next to her and letting his arms dangle lazily over the edge as he stared down at the street. She didn't answer for a moment and when he looked back to her he was startled to see her watching him intently.

"…what?" he asked cautiously.

She blinked thoughtfully before answering,

"I just…don't understand why it's so easy for me to talk to you like this…and not…"

She trailed off. Chat quirked his head, waiting for her to finish. She seemed to realize she hadn't ended her sentence and hurriedly clarified,

"And not Adrien."

She blushed again and Chat drew his arms back, turning to look at her in surprise. She looked genuinely upset, wrapping her arms around herself. He wasn't sure what to say but his instinct was to try to cheer her up somehow,

"Well it's probably cause I'm so much better looking than he is."

He tried to flash a grin at her. She gave him a half-hearted smile in return.

"Oh…is that it?"

He nodded,

"And more you know…mysterious, charming, etc."

He waggled his eyebrows and was rewarded with a small giggle.

"Not to mention humble."

She smiled back at him, genuinely this time.

"Of course."

For a moment it felt like time was slowing as they smiled at one another. Then Marinette shook her head again and sighed. A thought crossed his mind.

"Maybe you just need some practice?"

Chat quirked a smile at her.

"Practice?"

She eyed him suspiciously and he felt his heart skip another beat under her careful scrutiny. He tried to look nonchalant as he flipped his hair, mimicking a model pose,

"Pretend I'm Adrien."

Her eyes grew wider and he second guessed himself as she just stared at him for a moment. Was this a bad idea?

"Pretend…you're Adrien?"

Marinette was blushing again and he had to try not to think about how adorable it was. Apparently even thinking about him was enough to make her nervous. He coughed, trying to calm himself down.

"Yeah."

He took in a quick breath and then forced another smile at her,

"What would you want to say to me if I were Adrien?"

Her eyes were glued to his face in an expression of shock.

"WHAT!?"

She squeaked and he couldn't help the laugh that escaped him as she turned beet red.

"I can't say that to your face!"

She turned away from him, covering her blushing cheeks with her hands,

"Are you crazy?!"

"Oh come on Princess…"

The nickname slipped out of him as he stepped toward her and gently reached out, taking her hands in his own to move them from her face. She looked up at him and frowned, eyes shimmering in the moonlight.

"I swear I won't laugh. I just want to help."

She was still frowning at him but it was turning into more of a dubious pout. Raising one eyebrow slowly she eyed him,

"You really wanna know?"

"I really wanna know."

She turned to fully face him and he realized he was still holding her hands in his. She didn't try to pull away. Something in the back of his mind seemed to be whispering, this is a bad idea. He pushed it out of his thoughts as Marinette looked up at him, her deep, blue eyes growing soulful as she stared into his own. Her cheeks were still stained red with blush and for a moment he wasn't sure if she was going to say anything else. But then she cleared her throat and a spark of determination flickered across her face. In a voice as soft as silk she murmured quietly,

"…Adrien."

A shiver ran up his spine and without thinking he stepped closer to her, nearly closing the gap between them. She had to tilt her head back slightly to keep looking up at him. He could feel his face growing warm as she continued, genuine affection shining out upon him,

"I…love you."

Adrien swallowed.

His heart was suddenly beating way too fast.

"oh."

His voice broke and Marinette smiled curiously,

"oh?"

He cleared his throat and smiled back, shaking his head and replying in an affected voice,

"I mean: wow Marinette I had no idea you felt this way about me"

"Really?"

She arched an eyebrow at him and he shook his head solemnly,

"Yes, but I'm so glad to hear it because it just so happens that I am insanely in love with you too. Would you like to date?"

Marinette giggled and Chat was sure the sound was going to be the sweet, sweet death of him.

"I don't think that's what _Adrien_ would say."

She grinned at him and he noticed that she had drawn ever so slightly closer.

"It's what I would say if _I_ were Adrien and such an amazing girl confessed to _me_."

"Really?"

She was looking up at him with a grin that was somehow sad and playful at the same time. Maybe it was because of the hint of melancholy in her eyes.

Chat inwardly groaned at the stupid poet his brain had apparently become as he stared at her.

All this time, he thought, you were right here in front of me.

He nodded,

"And then I would say, ' _All this time you were right here in front of me_.'"

He drew her hands to his chest with a dramatic sigh,

"and I never even noticed because I am a _huge doofus_."

Marinette giggle again and he grinned. Her fingers wrapped in his were warm and he felt tingly in his toes from having her so close.

Ladybug.

Marinette.

"And then what would you do?"

She blinked up at him with what he could've sworn was a coy look. Was she flirting with him? The thought was so tempting he wanted it to be true…

"If you were Adrien."

Her voice was still soft.

" _If_ I were Adrien…"

He licked his lips, nerves crackling with excitement as the answer to her question tickled his mind. Don't say it, he thought to himself. But his mouth didn't listen.

"then I would kiss you."

"oh."

She flushed red again but she didn't move away. Chat blinked, feeling his heart beating loudly in his chest. Why had he said that?

"Yes."

"Well…"

She was looking up at him and he could've sworn her eyes darted to his mouth before gazing back up into his own as she continued, voice soft but somehow assured of herself,

"You…don't think I need to practice that do you?"

His eyes grew wide in surprise and her hands let go of his. Chat expected her to move away as she dropped her gaze to the bell around his neck but instead, she timidly slid her hands over his chest. She looked back up at him expectantly and without thinking he wrapped his hands around her waist.

"Well…If you think it'll help…"

He swallowed again nervously as she leaned into him, clasping her hands behind his neck. He could feel how hot his own face was now.

DANGER DANGER

THIS IS A BAD IDEA

But oh God those eyes were staring up at him, just waiting…

The most beautiful, amazing, wonderful girl in the world was here in his arms practically begging him to kiss her and he was completely in love with her.

He didn't care if it was a bad idea.

He closed his eyes and pulled her body into him, pressing his lips against hers. She responded in turn, softly kissing him back and for a moment it felt like Adrien's whole world was just lighting and fireworks and absolute ecstasy.

When she broke away gently he couldn't let her go,

"If I were Adrien…"

He murmured, pressing his forehead to hers,

"mhmm?"

She looked up at him again with hooded eyes and he didn't even bother to think of something else to say. He just kissed her again.

And then he didn't even bother to think at all.

He became completely overwhelmed with every blissful sensation as she pressed into him, kissing him over and over, their hands pulling one another closer. It felt like only a moment before Marinette slowly pulled back, eyes still closed, taking in a shaky breath. He looked at her and was startled to see the tiniest glimmer of a tear slip down her cheek as she drew another breath.

"Marinette?"

She opened her eyes and stared at him, hands resting around his neck,

"You…you know don't you?"

He felt his blood freeze.

"…know what?"

She blinked tears away, looking at him with a look that felt like she was weighing something in her mind against him. Her voice was a whisper,

"I love…Adrien…"

The expression on her face was tense and strange. Like that wasn't what she had just said at all. Like she was expecting him to understand what she had just said meant something completely different. He blinked, wheels slowly turning in his mind. She was trying to tell him something…wasn't she?

His heart felt like an ache in his chest as he desperately tried to grasp what she wanted him to say.

He couldn't lie to her.

But he couldn't say something to make her second guess the depth of how he felt either.

"Chat Noir…"

She said his name softly and he nodded,

"You understand, right? You love…"

He knew what she meant but he couldn't quite understand why she wanted him to say it. But she was Marinette and she was Ladybug. And he trusted her completely.

He nodded again,

"Ladybug."

A deep sigh escaped her lips and she nodded. Closing her eyes for a moment she lingered in his arms. Chat Noir wasn't sure what else to do or say…in fact he felt like there was something ominous looming in the back of his mind and he was very aware that he did not want to think about it.

And then she opened her eyes and looked up at him, smiling softly before pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek,

"Goodnight, Chat Noir."

She slipped out of his arms,

"Goodnight…Marinette."

He watched her slip back into her room.

The sound of the latch clicking shut made him suddenly aware of how silent it was outside. Glancing around him Adrien realized it had grown fairly late.

He reluctantly turned and reached for his baton, sailing back out into the night air.

His journey home was consumed with committing every detail of their moments together to memory, wavering between gleeful reminiscing and muddled confusion.

When he finally reached his room and dropped his transformation he barely registered his kwami's protest,

"Ok, from now on can you do all that mushy stuff outside the suit? It's unbearable!"

He waved halfheartedly at the small black cat spirit. Plagg rolled his eyes and turned his attention to gorging himself on Camembert.

Adrien flopped onto his bed.

The exhilaration of the night was starting to wear off as he pondered Marinette's strange behavior.

Of course, he was more than happy to make out with the girl he loved but from her perspective it didn't make any sense. Marinette thought he was in love with someone else because she didn't know he knew…did she? He played back the last few days events in his mind. The night he first kissed her…she'd been obviously doting on Adrien, not interested in Chat Noir. When he'd seen her next at school, she seemed…as normal as she usually seemed around him at school…

But then she was also Ladybug, whom he had seen during the Akuma attack...

And he'd tried to talk to Ladybug about kissing her…

Which, he hadn't said any names but if Marinette was Ladybug then he unknowingly kissed Ladybug and then TOLD Ladybug he kissed her because he was the guy Marinette was in love with….

Adrien squinted at the ceiling, trying to follow his own train of thought.

Then he sat up with a start,  
"PLAGG!"

"mfff?"

He turned with a horrified expression to look at his Kwami,

"Did I…accidentally tell Ladybug…"

"Your secret identity?" Plagg swallowed the mouthful of cheese he had been chewing before turning to give Adrien a sneer,

"Yeah. You did."


End file.
